The present invention relates to a temporary device for spacing an opening element with respect to a fixed element of a vehicle body.
Before permanent attachment of an opening element, such as a door, hood or tailgate, among others, with respect to a fixed element of a vehicle body, one generally applies one or several coatings, such as protective coatings or a layer of paint. During treatments of this type, these opening elements are not yet equipped with permanent closure devices, such as locks.
For this reason, temporary spacing devices are used which make it possible to maintain an opening element in its closed position with regard to the fixed element to which it must be attached.
Documents EP 0 931 895 and FR 2 833 562 each describe a device of this type comprising, on one hand, a fixing plate for anchoring the device on the fixed element, and on the other hand, a body attached to the fixing plate and forming an abutment for supporting the opening element.
However, one of the drawbacks of these devices is their poor ability to sustain the stresses and forces exerted by the element held open. Indeed, opening elements of the car door, tailgate and hood types, among others, are fairly heavy elements which are generally manipulated somewhat imprecisely and not very carefully during their installation or during transport of the vehicle body along the assembly line. These kinds of manipulations risk causing a large number of shocks between the temporary spacing device and the opening element, leading to damages to the metal and/or abutment of this temporary spacing device. These problems may also come from devices provided on the vehicle itself or located on the assembly line.